Teen Killed, Sisters Injured In Riverton Crash
Oct 2, 2018, 6:57 PM | Updated: 9:43 pm
RIVERTON, Utah – A 14-year-old girl was killed and two of her sisters injured in a crash as they drove to school in Riverton. The car was hit at an intersection about a half block from Riverton High School during heavy morning traffic.
It happened at the intersection of 12600 South and 2700 West Tuesday. The three sisters, ages 16, 14 and 4 were in a Volkswagen Beetle headed west and turning south when their car was hit on the passenger side by a westbound Subaru.
“It spun both vehicles over into the southeast part of the intersection,” said Detective Ken Hansen with Unified Police Department.
He said 14-year-old Kaiden Cherrington, riding in the front passenger seat, died at the hospital from the injuries she suffered. The greatest impact from the crash was in that area of the car.
Kaiden was a student at Oquirrh Hills Middle School, about three blocks south of the intersection.
“She was enthusiastic about all of it. She loved it,” said Ester Hopkin, who taught Kaiden in dance class at the school the last three years.
“She was a happy, cheery face right in front of the door, right when you came in,” said Hopkin.
Kaiden was eager to befriend shyer students, and make them feel like they belonged.
“I would give the kids a challenge, and she would say, ‘Okay, let’s figure this out,’” said Hopkin. “She would be able to reach out, like I said, and see that one person that wasn’t in the group and say, hey you should come to be in our group.”
“It’s very apparent, and I can say this as an outsider, that this student was very well loved,” said McKinley Withers, a health and wellness specialist with the Jordan School District.
A half dozen crisis counselors with the district, including Withers, joined the school counselors to help 30 to 40 students process their grief today.
Withers said the students he counseled saw Kaiden as an important person in their lives. He said, he could tell that by the way they spoke about her.
“A lot of the students that were affected were not only friends of (Kaiden), but also people that are younger that aren’t necessarily young, but really looked up to (her) and really love her,” said Withers.
Police said her sisters will recover from their injuries. At her school, Kaiden’s friends and teachers said she will truly be missed.
“She was respected by her peers, and she worked hard,” said Hopkin.
Police were still investigating which driver had the right-of-way.
